Healing
by Number6of6
Summary: Hotch moves on with the new woman in his life.


_**If you are not a fan of Beth, I'd recommend you stop reading right now. : )**_

They watched him with her, all surprised at the public displays of affection, but also happy to see the man who had suffered so much, finally enjoying life again. The events of the past few years had no doubt changed him, but not in a bad way. The man who had allowed himself to become consumed by his job and lose the things that were most precious to him, was changing before their eyes. The divorce had shaken him and caused him to begin questing the choices he had made, but the death of his beloved Haley at the hands of a vicious serial killer, a mad man he had brought into their lives, had made him go from questioning his choices to making a concerted effort to change the way he chose to live his life.

He'd begun allowing Morgan to take some of the load so he could be home with his son in the evenings. When home, his weekends no longer consisted of pouring through case files and writing reports, but instead, lounging in front of the television on Saturday mornings, watching cartoons and eating cereal, spending hours in a nearby park willing himself to have the energy to keep up with his energetic young son, coaching soccer games and preparing the ultimate Saturday night bachelor's only meal of pigs in the blanket and macaroni and cheese.

On the evenings when he wasn't out of town working a case he did his best to make it home in time to eat dinner with his son, to sit on the bathroom floor and listen to every detail of the youngster's day while reminding him to wash behind his ears, and to cuddle up beside him and read. He'd been keeping his promise to Haley and was allowing Jack to see that his father wasn't serious all of the time and now it would appear that he was embarking on a journey that might allow him to honor her dying wishes and also teach Jack about love and how it is the most important thing in a person's life.

Watching the three of them together, young Jack seated in the chair in-between them and telling his daddy's new friend how his dad had promised him a bigger bike on his next birthday so that he could learn how to ride in races too made the pain and the horror of what the father and son had experienced fade just a little bit further into the past as a happier future began to unfold before their eyes. She seemed to bring out a side of Hotch that most of them never got to see and the side that had been lying dormant for far too long. Rossi recognized the happier somewhat silly man that surfaced when he was with his son or now, with this new woman in his life, but the others hadn't had the pleasure of experiencing this side of Hotch very often and all were happy to be experiencing it now. So, when the men excused themselves to the back of the restaurant where the arcade games lie waiting for their money, the women all moved closer, surrounding the unsuspecting woman before she had a chance to escape.

"Is this the part where the girlfriend gets grilled by the FBI?" Beth joked.

"Something like that. So where do you work Beth?" Garcia asked.

"You're Penelope right?" Beth asked.

"Yes, that's right." Garcia answered.

"When you run that background check, be sure to enter my given name Elizabeth, wouldn't want you to dig up the wrong dirt." Beth teased.

"So Hotch has told you about us?" JJ asked with a light laugh.

"He's told me all about all of you. You're JJ and you must be Emily." Beth said.

"Hotch talks about us?" Penelope asked.

"He does. He's very fond of all of you. I was really nervous about meeting all of you." Beth admitted.

"Well, we're pretty fond of him too, but if you repeat that we'll deny it." Emily said.

"Don't worry, you're secret is safe with me, but I think all of you showing up today to support him might've blown your cover." Beth told them.

"So how much do you know about Hotch…..and Jack?" Emily asked.

"You mean do I know what happened to his wife?" Beth asked.

"Um…yeah." Emily said.

"He told me, but he didn't need to. I already knew. I mean, I knew by how much I terrify him that he'd been through something pretty traumatic." Beth said.

"You terrify him?" JJ asked.

"I do or at least I did, and it was endearing, but also a little sad." Beth said.

"But, Hotch isn't afraid of anything." Garcia objected.

"Everyone is afraid of something Penelope, but no worries ladies, he pretty much squashed the fear a few weeks ago when he finally asked me out on a date." Beth explained.

"Yeah, so how's that going?" Emily asked.

"Oh you know, those first dates are always a little awkward, but the ones after that have been good, really good. He's a really great guy." Beth told them and smiled.

"He's a really great guy with a really demanding job, are you going to be able to handle that?" Emily asked, the bluntness of the question taking Beth as well as the others by surprise.

"Em." JJ warned.

"No, no. It's okay, I understand your concern. You don't want him to get hurt." Beth said.

"He's been hurt enough." Emily said.

"I agree, he has, and honestly, I have no idea how I feel about his job, except to say that so far his having to cancel plans because of it hasn't upset me. I have a pretty busy job myself and can get called away at the last minute as well so I understand those things can't be helped." Beth explained.

"His job can get pretty grim. How do you feel about that?" Emily continued to prod.

"His job doesn't get pretty grim, it is very grim, but I think what he and the rest of you do is pretty impressive. I'm sure I could never do it, but I'm glad that there are people like Aaron and all of you that devote your lives to making our world just a little bit safer." Beth told her.

"He talks to you about the cases?" JJ asked.

"Sometimes yeah, afterward, not during and it usually takes a lot of prodding from me to get him to open up about whatever horrible thing you all have just dealt with." Beth said.

"That's Hotch." JJ huffed.

"I think he just likes to keep his personal life and his professional life as separate as possible." Garcia offered.

"I think so too, but I like to let him know he doesn't have to, that he's not going to scare me off by sharing his day with me." Beth said.

"Oh look, here they come. Look at all those tickets in Jack's hands." JJ laughed.

"Beth! Look what I won!" Jack exclaimed as he dropped the pile of tickets into her lap.

"Wow! You did that all by yourself?" Beth asked.

"No, we all won them, but they said I could have them all. Do you want to go with me and my dad to pick out a prize?" Jack asked excitedly.

"Sure. Let's go." Beth said.

The guys sat back down at the table, noticing that the women had been surrounding Beth while they were gone. They watched Hotch, Beth and Jack make their way over to the ticket exchange counter.

"So did you get it out of your system ladies? Get all the juicy gossip?" Morgan teased.

"No gossip. We were just making sure her intentions were of the pure variety." Garcia said.

"As if any woman's intentions are of the pure variety." Rossi quipped.

"She seems nice." JJ said.

"She does." Reid agreed.

"Hopefully she won't tell Hotch we pried." Emily said.

"Oh, he already knows exactly what you were doing." Morgan laughed.

They stood back while Hotch walked Beth to her car, keeping Jack with them so they could have a private moment.

"Ten dollars says he won't, not in front of Jack." Rossi said softly to Morgan.

"That's exactly why we're going to distract Jack. Come on Jack, I'll let you play a game on my phone while your dad tells his friend goodbye." Morgan said and walked Jack toward his car.

"They're all watching us." Beth said and laughed lightly.

"I know. I feel like a teenager getting ready to go to the prom." Hotch remarked.

"I had a good time." She said.

"Liar." He teased.

"No, I did. Your son is so sweet and the members of your team are all so nice." She said.

"So they weren't grilling you?" He asked.

"Oh no, they were, but they just care about you so it's okay. When can I see you again?" She asked.

"We can meet for coffee tomorrow." He offered.

"I can't. I've got an early meeting in the morning, how about lunch?" She asked.

"I can probably sneak away around one." He answered.

"Great, I'll meet you in our usual spot at one." She said and smiled at him.

"I really want to spend some time with you, not just lunches and morning coffees. Are you busy next weekend?" He asked.

"As far as I know, I'm completely free after around 3 PM on Friday. Why? What did you have in mind?" She asked.

"Jack is visiting his grandparents next weekend. I was thinking maybe we could go away some place. You pick, but keep it within a 150 mile area. I shouldn't be more than two or three hours away in case we get called in." He said.

"You don't go with Jack when he visits his grandparents?" She asked.

"No, we have an agreement. I don't step foot in their home and they pretend they don't hate me." He said.

"I'm sorry." Beth said.

"It's fine. I don't blame them for feeling the way they do and they are very good to Jack and that's all that matters. So what do you say, me and you next weekend?" He asked.

"Away, as in overnight?" She asked.

"Well yes, but I'm not being presumptuous. We can stay in separate rooms. I just thought it'd be nice to get away, you know, no distractions." He said, his tone slightly apologetic.

"What if I don't want to stay in separate rooms?" She asked.

"Oh sure, put that idea into my head and expect me to focus on catching criminals all week." He teased.

"Aaron, I'm serious." She said.

"I know you are and so am I. Look, let's not put that kind of pressure on ourselves. Pick a place to go to and I'll make a reservation for one room and we'll just have fun. Okay?" He offered.

"Making a reservation for one room isn't putting pressure on us?" She asked with a slight grin.

"Only if we let it, two adults can share a room and even a bed without actually "sharing a bed". I have no expectations Beth." He said.

"Now who's the liar?" She laughed.

"We've known each other for months, and we see each other almost every day when I'm in town, but we've only had a few actual dates so really, I have no expectations. I'm content to just go with it and let whatever happens, happen." He tried to convince her.

"That doesn't sound like the Aaron I know. He's a planner and so organized." She was skeptical.

"He is, but in case you haven't noticed, he has no idea what he's doing when it comes to this dating stuff." He said with a shy smile.

"Well, I'm hardly an expert, but I think you're doing fine." Beth told him.

"Does that mean you'll go away with me next weekend? Ladies choice, your wish is my command." He said sweetly.

"It sounds wonderful. I'll give you my list of demands when we meet for lunch tomorrow." She teased, making him smile.

"Is Jack watching?" He asked.

"No, he's sitting in the car with one of your team members." She said.

He leaned in and kissed her thoroughly.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He said when he finally pulled away.

He walked slowly toward his team, who were all smiling at him. He joined them and then waited; knowing they were dying to ask questions they'd normally never dare consider asking him.

"Go ahead, get it out of your systems, but just remember, tomorrow morning I'm still the boss." He sighed.

It was Friday evening. Jack had been picked up and whisked away by his grandmother a few hours earlier and Hotch and Beth were nearing the end of their drive to Williamsburg, where reservations for two nights at a Bed & Breakfast had been made. Williamsburg was one of her favorite places and she was looking forward to sharing all of her favorite historic sites with him.

"I can't believe you've never taken the time to enjoy Williamsburg." She said.

"There's a lot I've never taken the time to enjoy." He said, taking hold of her hand.

"Yeah, like what?" She asked.

"Oh lots of things, mostly life. I've always been so driven that I never really allowed myself to just enjoy living." He said.

"But now you are?" She asked.

"I'm trying. My son has really been a great motivator in that respect. Experiencing things through his eyes is like experiencing things for the first time all over again. We built a snowman together. He was five at the time. He had so many questions. _"Daddy how come he doesn't have any arms?"_ I find some appropriate twigs and give him arms. _"Daddy, how can he walk without legs?"_ I explain that he's made of snow and that he'd just glide along the snow. _"Daddy, he's going to get cold with nothing on but that scarf."_ I find an old jacket and put that around him. _"Daddy, how can he breathe with a carrot for a nose?"_ I suggest that he breathes though his mouth. _"Daddy how does he go to the bathroom?"_ He laughed, obviously very fond of the memory by the light tone in his voice and the half smile on his face.

"Oh my goodness, what did you tell him?" She laughed.

"I told him that when he melts he's going to the bathroom which was a mistake because for days I'd hear him call out _"Daddy! The snowman is peein again!"_ He laughed.

"That's adorable. You know Aaron, a simple "the snowman isn't real" might've shut all those questions down before they ever started." She teased.

"I know, but what fun would that be? When you were a little girl you didn't pretend your dolls were real?" He asked.

"What do you mean pretend? They were real." She deadpanned making him laugh.

They checked into the Bed & Breakfast and then made the short walk into Colonial Williamsburg for a late dinner. After dinner they walked hand in hand through the historic town, too dark to enjoy the sights, but just light enough to enjoy one another and the quiet stroll.

"What do you want to do?" He asked.

"Those two glasses of wine have made me want to crawl under the covers and go to sleep." She said as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him.

He smelled so good and his body was so hard and strong and comforting all at the same time. She was fairly certain they weren't going to make it through the entire weekend without actually "sharing the bed" and that was fine with her. She was ready to take that next step with him, she just wanted to be certain that he was ready. She knew it was a huge step for him and wasn't going to be the one to initiate it. He had to want it, want her and be the aggressor. After that awkward first kiss, he'd taken the initiative to kiss her at the end of their first date and there was nothing awkward about that kiss. It made her tingle from head to toe and count the moments until she'd get to kiss him again. On the date after that she'd invited him inside for coffee and they did get around to enjoying some tea eventually, but the two hours they spent together on the couch talking and kissing like two love sick teenagers were the best two hours she'd spent with any man in a very long time.

She never would've dreamed that dating at 40 could be so enjoyable, probably more enjoyable than at any other time in her life. She assumed it was because they were both mature adults and he was such a kind, decent, honorable man that there were none of those nagging fears about being used. The fact that they had become friends for so long before they took the next step was also part of why she felt so at ease with him and his intentions and she knew that when he asked her to join him for the weekend, his intentions were pure, but she hoped that if was feeling the same way she did he wouldn't hold back.

"It's 9:30 on a Friday night. Are we really that old?" He chuckled, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"I don't know about you, but I'm really that old...well, I am after two glasses of wine anyway. I'm sorry." She said while trying to stifle a yawn.

"Don't be. There's a DVD player in the room. Want to stop and get a movie?" He asked and gestured toward the video store a few hundred feet away.

"Wow, they still make video stores? I thought they'd all gone away." Beth said in an excited tone, the sleepiness she'd been experiencing suddenly gone.

"Do you always get this excited over video stores?" He teased.

"Hush you! I miss the video store. Between Netflix and Redbox it's hard to find a video store and I miss them. I love strolling down the aisles looking at all the different movie titles. Come on, let's go!" She said happily and pulled him toward the video store.

"What do you want to watch?" She asked.

"It doesn't matter to me as long as it's not animated. It's been awhile since I've seen anything not G-rated." He said.

"Oh look! The Sixth Sense! I think this is one of my all time favorites, but it's kind of scary so I don't like to watch it by myself." Beth said excitedly.

"I don't think I've ever seen it." He admitted.

"Are you serious or are you just being nice?" She asked.

"No, I've never seen it so if you want to watch, let's get it. I'll do my best to keep you from feeling scared." He spoke softly into her ear.

They were snuggled up together in the bed, both having stripped down to shorts and a t-shirt. He sat with his back propped up against two pillows and she was snuggled into his chest with his arm wrapped tightly around her. He found the movie pleasantly spooky, but had the big reveal figured out before they were even half way through it.

"Bruce Willis is dead isn't he?" He asked.

"How did you figure that out?" She asked as she sat up to look at him and slapped at his chest playfully.

"Nobody but the boy ever talks to him and the behavior of the people in the same room with him suggest that they have no idea he's there. It's a good movie though." He said and kissed her softly.

"No it's not, not anymore. The big reveal at the end is what makes it so mind blowing. We haven't been to a movie together yet. Do you figure all of them out long before the ending?" She pouted playfully.

"Aw, I'm sorry, I spoiled it for you. Can I make it up to you?" He asked playfully.

"What did you have in mind?" She asked.

"Anything you want, just name it." He offered.

"Can I get a rain check on that? I'd like to save it for when I see something I really want." She said with a mischievous smile and kissed him quickly, but not quickly enough because when she tried to pull away he pulled her back.

He gently laid her back onto the pillows and kissed her passionately, his hand toying lightly with the hem of her t-shirt before allowing his fingers to slip beneath it and gently rub the warm skin on her stomach. He heard her sigh right before she began running her fingers through his hair and deepening their kiss, moaning into his mouth when she felt the hand that had found it's way under her shirt find the lace that was covering her breast. He finally broke the kiss and looked into her eyes.

"What if I see something I really want?" He asked softly.

"Do you? See something you really want?" She asked and bit her lower lip gently.

"I do, but only if you do as well." He said, his tone so sure and confident that she was certain she'd melted into a puddle of helpless goo.

"I do." She whispered.

That was all it took and he was from that point on a man who was in complete control, every bit as strong and confident in bed as she assumed he was at his job and thorough, oh my god was he thorough as they "shared the bed" that night and then again the following morning. They showered and enjoyed a nice breakfast before heading out for a day of sight-seeing, exiting the quaint B&B a different couple than the one that had entered, a better couple as far as they were both concerned, his mind continuing to replay the events of the previous night.

He'd thought about that moment for a very long time, even before he'd mustered up the courage to ask her out on a date, and he'd been apprehensive. He'd been afraid he wouldn't feel the right things, afraid his pain and his guilt over Haley would cloud this thoughts and keep him from enjoying the moment and more importantly, making the moment enjoyable for her, but there was that brief moment when he'd made eye contact with her, that moment when she was teasing him about waiting until she saw something she really wanted and he knew. She wanted him and the moment he laid her back onto those pillows, nothing in his past mattered. It was all about her and how she made him feel and goddamn it felt good to be wanted again and he gave her as much as she could stand and then some. She was so responsive to every touch, to every caress, to every thrust within her body that he thought he might go crazy before he finally gave into his own release. And as he lay on top of her, still buried deep inside and trying to catch his breath as her hands moved up and down his sweaty back and through his damp hair, it never occurred to him to even flinch when she whispered "I think I'm falling in love with you". Instead he lifted his head, looked into her sated eyes, kissed her softly and in a husky tone whispered, "me too".

"Penny for your thoughts." She said, bringing his attention back to her.

"They're worth way more than a penny." He said and smiled at her.

"Okay, how about a quarter then?" She asked.

"You've been quiet this morning. Are you okay? Are we okay?" He asked.

"I know you didn't think it was possible, but you may have rendered me speechless." She teased.

"You were pretty vocal a couple of hours ago." He teased back, making her smile and grip his hand a little tighter.

"You've been quiet yourself. Maybe we rendered each other speechless, but I'm okay and I hope we're okay. How do you feel about it?" She asked.

He stopped and turned so that they were facing each other. He leaned in and kissed her softly.

"I feel great Beth. I think I'm just starting to panic a little because I have no plans for what we do next. I guess I need to have a talk with my son as soon as possible." He said.

"Aaron, you don't have to do that right away. As for what we do next, we don't need a plan, we'll just keep going forward and enjoying each other." She offered.

"And you'll let me know when that stops being enough?" He asked.

"No, we'll decide together what is or isn't enough and where this goes. I worry just as much about making you happy as you seem to already be worried about making me happy. We made love Aaron and it was wonderful and I hope there will be a lot more of that in the future, but it doesn't mean you have to feel obligated to hurry up and make decisions and commitments that you and your son are not ready to make." She said.

"I feel like if I don't tell Jack you're more than just my friend, that I'm somehow lying to him and I don't ever want my son to feel like I've purposely deceived him. Honestly Beth, I have no idea how he's going to react to this. He may smile and welcome you with open arms or he may pitch the mother of all fits and reject you and the idea of us completely." He told her.

"I'm sorry Aaron. I know this is hard for you. Maybe his reaction will be somewhere in-between the two extremes?" She asked.

"Possibly, but regardless, I feel like he needs and deserves to know what's going on so I'm going to tell him tomorrow evening. I'd like for you to be there when I tell him, but if that makes you uncomfortable I'll understand." He said.

"I'll agree to that if you promise me that you're going to let that little boy be as angry as he wants and needs to be and not reprimand him if things get ugly." She said.

"No, no reprimanding, not immediately, but he will eventually have to understand that being rude and hateful to people isn't acceptable if he does indeed go the ugly route. You know I face some of the most demented individuals on the planet day in and day out, but none of them have ever been able to frighten me and make me feel as powerless and useless as my six year old can." He admitted.

She leaned in and kissed him gently before allowing him to pull her into a tight hug.

"You're a good father Aaron, I can tell by the way your features completely change when you talk about Jack. He's going to be okay, maybe not tomorrow or even a year from now, but eventually, he's going to heal and so will you." She said.

"Beth, please don't think that I'm still pining after my dead ex-wife and that I'm using you to try to heal from that pain. Nothing could be further from the truth. Last night was real and my feelings for you are real. You believe that don't you?" He asked.

"I do. I believe that those pieces of you have healed enough to feel confident enough to move on, but I think that big, gaping wound of guilt for your son that you carry around is going to take a lot more time to become manageable pain….for both of you and I don't want to impede Jack's progress, so please, be certain that telling him the truth about us right now is the best thing to do." She pleaded with him, still allowing him to hold her tightly.

"Well, I've certainly put a damper on our fun weekend haven't I?" He asked.

"It's okay. I knew early on that if this ever turned into a relationship it was going to have its difficult moments. Why don't you give Jack a call and see how his weekend is going and I'll go get us a couple of hot chocolates. It's chilly today." She offered and pulled away before he could object.

She approached him again a few minutes later with two hot chocolates in her hands. The heavy burden he was carrying before he made the call seemed to have completely disappeared as he smiled and spoke softly into the phone. He took one of the cups of hot chocolate from her hand and handed her his phone.

"Jack wants to say hello." He said as she placed the phone to her ear.

"Hey Jack." She said cheerily.

"Hi Beth, Daddy says you're coming to eat with us tomorrow. Do you like white milk or chocolate milk?" He asked.

"Oh, definitely chocolate." She told him.

"Yea! Can I talk to daddy now?" He asked.

"Sure. Bye Jack." She said and handed the phone back to him.

She listened to Aaron chuckle lightly and then tell his son he loved him before saying goodbye.

"What was that all about?" She asked.

"Don't play all innocent. You knew exactly what you were doing when you had me call him and thank you. You recognized that I was panicking and all I needed was five minutes of his innocence to get a grip." He said.

"That would make me pretty insightful Aaron." She teased.

"It would and you are and thank you." He said and kissed her on the tip of her nose.

"Why did he want to know what kind of milk I like?" She asked.

"Oh, because he wanted to know if we could have chocolate milk with our dinner tomorrow night and I told him he had to drink whatever kind of milk his guest wanted. We'll have to get our answers straight in the future." He laughed lightly.

"Whoops sorry." She said and bit her bottom lip, not the least bit sorry.

"Yeah, I can tell you're all broke up over it. Come on let's enjoy the rest of our day and night." He said, placing his arm around her waist and pulling her close.

"And after that?" She asked.

"Then we'll focus on enjoying the rest of our lives." He said confidently as they strolled toward the museum she wanted to show him.


End file.
